Like many, we were relieved to hear from the Government of Madagascar and WHO in November last year that the pulmonary plague outbreak in Madagascar had been contained. Plague is a disease caused by bacteria called Yersinia pestis that are typically transmitted by rodents through their fleas but can also be transmitted from human to human. Since the onset of the outbreak in early August 2017, there had been 2,300 human cases of plague reported, leading to 207 deaths (WHO update). WHO called for continued vigilance until the end of the plague season at the end of April, as more cases of bubonic plague should be expected and could lead to a resurgence of pulmonary plague. The President of Madagascar also committed to establishing a permanent “plague unit” at the level of the Prime Minister’s office to work on the eradication of plague―rightly so, as experience tells us that addressing risks at the interface of human, animal and environmental health is challenging.

Today the world is celebrating “One Health Day.” Sometimes great ideas appear simple, even intuitive: the One Health concept was created to demonstrate that the health of people and animals are interconnected, and that these are in turn, inextricably bound to the health of the environment on which all life depends.